Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Sabad Nirantar

If there was ever a need to remind ourselves of the need for the profound in our everyday life, and its enduring place among those we refer to as ‘common’ folk, then this film nudges us to that doorstep.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Manganiyar Seduction begins in almost complete darkness -- light bulbs faintly illuminate 36 human-sized rectangular boxes on a large four-tier set. Then the sound of a khamacha, an Indian stringed instrument, breaks the silence. Slowly, lights come up on one of the boxes to reveal the musician sitting cross-legged, dressed in white with an orange turban.

The Manganiyar Seduction are currently playing at the Lincoln Center, New York.

Friday, November 26, 2010

New Delhi, 1999. The guns at Kargil are still blazing when another one goes off, this time in the nation's capital. Jessica, a young attractive model trying her hand at bartending, is shot dead at a celebrity party. Her crime - refusing to serve a drink after closing hours! The culprit Manish, son of a prominent politician, inebriated by a deadly cocktail of alcohol and a sense of entitlement, pulls the trigger in a fit of rage. With 300 of Delhi's swish set present at the party, many of whom are witnesses to the murder, Manish looks all set to go to the gallows. Except, that it doesn't quite turn out that way! Now two women, Jessica's sister, Sabrina and the feisty TV reporter, Meera will have to drum up every resource at their disposal to outwit Manish at his own game, if the truth is to have any chance of prevailing over money and political clout.No One Killed Jessica, a dramatic new thriller from UTV Motion Pictures is inspired by real life events that followed the shocking murder of Jessica Lal in 1999. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, the film stars Vidya Balan and Rani Mukherjee and will release on 7th January 2011.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

They live in a vicious circle. This photo essay depicts the agony and ecstasy of the forbidden lives of an unfortunate community. You'll find them at Sagar and Mangal theatres, Modnimb Village located in western Maharashtra, an overnight drive from Mumbai. Here, huddled in a 10 ft x 10 ft single room, about 10 people comprising young girls, their mothers, their younger sisters and brothers stay put. Their valuables are neatly stacked in rows of shining metal boxes. Pictures of their favourite stars and goddesses bedeck the white-washed walls. The luxuries include colour televisions and stereos. There are about ten such rooms and each room is inhabited by a cluster of people which comprise of one group. All these groups have a common kitchen or at times order from a nearby restaurant.

Come sundown and the girls and their mothers tie ghungroos (a leather strap with strings of metal bells that can weigh as heavy as seven kilos to create rhythm.) around their ankles, apply make-up, dress themselves in paithani sarees and get set for the show. The theatre is a 35 ft x 17 ft room with a single door and devoid of any windows. It has a wooden stage which often creaks with the weight of the dancers. The room is dimly lit. A couple of torn rugs are strewn in front of the stage followed by rows of wobbly wooden benches. They are the tamasha artists from the kolhati community Tamasha is a folk art of Maharashtra, where the artists sing, dance and enact in a very suggestive format. The men in the group play the dholki, tabla or harmonium as an accompaniment for the erotic music.

Presently there are about 3,000 such tamasha dancers. Usually each group has regular patrons who throw money at the dancers while they are performing. As night deepens, these groups settle for private recitals if any patrons demands it. The money that they get is distributed amongst the members of each group.

In the past, tamashas were patronised by Maratha chieftains and Peshwas during the pre-independence days. The patrons are now replaced by politicians and other such purse-holders and power brokers. Unfortunately, once the girls wore ghungroos, marriage was not possible as they were treated like pariahs. But still, most tamasha artists have children, adopting their mother's name, as they believe that they are their only hope for living and are some support to them in their old age. Over the years, what happens in most cases is that these children get initiated into the profession. A profession that their parents are not proud of, but because of a dearth of better options are sort of compelled to endorse it. Presently, they get a stipend of Rs. 300 once the women reach the age of 40. The state government has been promising them several socio-economic perks expected to better their condition and honour their art with prestige. Unfortunately the promises are yet to be realised. Till then, the tamasha artists bravely battle it out. Night after night. While hoping for a better dawn.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The first-ever exhibition of Anish Kapoor in India will be presented at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi from 28 November 2010 – 27 February 2011 and the Mehboob Film Studios, Mumbai from 30 November 2010 – 16 January 2011. The exhibition is presented by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and the National Gallery of Modern Art, together with the British Council and Lisson Gallery in association with Louis Vuitton.

Organised across two sites, each exhibition will focus on a different strand of the artist’s practice and together will form one of the largest and most ambitious exhibitions of the artist’s work ever to be shown. It will feature a selection of sculptures and installations spanning the breadth of his career, from early pigment-based works of the 1980s, to his most recent wax installations. Both exhibitions will feature works which were included in the recent, record-breaking exhibition of Kapoor’s work at the Royal Academy, London, which attracted over 275,000 visitors in less than three months and became the most successful exhibition of a living artist ever held in London.

Anish Kapoor is one of the most influential sculptors of his generation. He was born in 1954 in Bombay and moved to London in the early 1970s where he has lived and worked ever since. He studied art at Hornsey College of Art (1973-1977) and at Chelsea School of Art (1977-1978). He quickly gained international attention and acclaim for a series of solo exhibitions at museums and galleries across the world. He represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1990, where he was awarded the ‘Premio Duemila’.

He won the Turner Prize in 1991 and he received the prestigious Unilever Commission for the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in 2002, which he realised with the much-acclaimed work, Marsyas. Among his major permanent commissions is Cloud Gate (2004) for the Millennium Park in Chicago, considered to be the most popular public artwork in the world. He was recently awarded the commission with Cecil Balmond for a permanent artwork for the London 2012 Olympic Park, the ArcelorMittal Orbit.

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi is one of the leading museums for modern and contemporary art in India. Recently re-furbished, the NGMA now includes three main exhibition buildings and the Anish Kapoor show will be the first major exhibition to be held in the gallery’s newly constructed Exhibition Hall.

The Mehboob Studios were founded by legendary filmmaker Mehboob Khan in 1954 to cater for the growing demand for quality film facilities in India. Situated on 20,000 square yards of seaside land in Bandra, in the heart of greater Mumbai, the studio soon became a favourite with some of the leading filmmakers of the time.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Earth in India

Religare Arts in New Delhi will host the exhibition of shortlisted work from the Prix Pictet 2009 , on the theme of ‘Earth’.

The exhibition opens on 30 November and will run until 19 December 2010. This is the first time a Prix Pictet exhibition has been shown in India and the exhibition in New Delhi marks the final stage of the Earth global tour which has visited twelve different cities around the world in the last twelve months. Plans are currently being made for the international tour that will follow on from the announcement of winner of the third Prix Pictet in March 2010. Locations are already confirmed in Dubai, Milan and Madrid. The full touring schedule will be announced in March.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

AMIR KHAN's next release is dubbed as an 'art film' category titled 'Dhobi Ghat' which will depict Bombay, its essence and its people. It is a story about four characters in city of Bombay. The movie will introduce fresh aspirants such as Monica Dogra who is part of the Shaair + Func (Electronic Band), Prateik Babbar & Kriti Malhotra. Dhobi Ghat is directed by Aamir's wife Kiran Rao and produced under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions. It is scheduled for release on January 21, 2011 - {MASI Reporting}.

Meaning of Dhobi Ghat:

Dhobi Ghat is a well known washers' area in Mumbai. The washers known locally as Dhobis work in open to wash the cloths from Mumbai's hotels and hospitals. There are row upon row of open-air concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone. Termed as the world's largest outdoor laundry Dhobi Ghat is a very popular attraction among foreign tourists.

The word Dhobi Ghat is used all over India to refer to any place where many washers are present.

It is located next to Mahalaxmi Station on Western Railway on Saat Rasta roundabout.It is can be easily seen from flyover bridge of Mahalaxmi station.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Play Clan had first entered the markets by launching their stores in the capital (Dilli) which finally made it to Dilliwallah's Dil (heart)... after a year or so they have now managed to enter Bombay-wallah's Bazaar! Play Clan (Bombay) was recently launched in the artsy neighbourhood of Bandra in a tiny hole in the wall space.

Play Clan's team have specially designed their merchandise such as bags, stationary, home decor, accessories etc keeping the Bombay as their theme. MASI recently got the opportunity to checkout the Bombay store and pick up some cool postcards over Diwali. The postcards which we picked were inspired by the city of Benaras where you could find the intricate details of our peaceful sadhu's trying to find the peace within the piece? -- Get it?

Concept note by Play Clan for Bombay:

What once came to King Charles II as dowry for marrying his Portuguese beloved and later leased by him to the east india company for the price of peanuts now belongs to everyone and no one in particular. Plant yourself at Cafe Leopold with a pint, watch life go by at Colaba (Shantaram style). See Pandu Hawaldaar perform his stick stunts to stun the localites and the globalites while the Mumbhai (local don) roams around scot-free. Watch the shopkeepers selling Gucc(h)i without pangs of guilt. Head towards the dock to catch bombil - bombay's speciality fish , do a koli jig as you shout out " o la la le e yo" to King of Good times- Vijay Malaya's super yacht Indian Empress. People with sleep disorders can then hit Insomnia- the 'chic'-est nightclub at Tata's Taj and then exit from the Gateway of India!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Jitish Kallat and curator Madhuvanti Ghose discuss the first major presentation in an American museum of the contemporary Indian artist's work, a site-specific installation that calls attention to the chasm between two very different events of September 11—the landmark 1893 speech by Swami Vivekananda promoting religious tolerance and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Watch Sanjay Leela Bhansali create magic yet again along with the most mystical pair in Bollywoood - Hrithik Roshan & Aishwariya Rai Bachchan, in his upcoming film - Guzaarish. The Film releases on November 19th 2010.